Allie Dilldine swims at the Moffat County High School pool during a practice. Dilldine was part of a second-place relay team for the MCHS girls swimming team at the Grand Junction Relays during the weekend and was the Bulldogs' top finisher in Delta in the 100-meter freestyle.

Moffat County swimming keeps fast start going in Grand Junction

MCHS swimming's next meet

The Bulldogs compete at the Montrose Invitational Friday and Saturday before taking time off for winter break.

During the early weeks of any sports season, athletes have to adjust to the competitive climate as coaches work to figure out where each player is at their best.

That has been the case for the Moffat County girls swimming team, but the Bulldogs have been swimming so well to start the 2013-14 season that they are giving the coaches the best type of difficult decision to make.

“We rearranged the order of the girls (in relays) and cut times,” said coach Meghan Francone. “Sometimes it’s about trying to find which girls swim the best in which leg of the relay. We will probably be juggling all the way through the regionals because they’re all swimming so well.”

Moffat County showed more improvement in two meets over the weekend, swimming against some big schools from across the Western Slope. They competed first in Delta, where Bulldogs shaved seconds off their times almost across the board.

Marissa Hulstine took 11 seconds off her best time in the 500-meter freestyle, while she, Alex Samuelson and Selene Singleton all dropped better than 3.5 seconds in the 200 free.

Micah Espinosa also had a good meet. She was part of Moffat County’s winning team in the 200 medley relay, along with Bailey Kurz, Laurel Tegtman and Samuelson. She also took first in the 100 breaststroke.

Moffat County had 10 other top-three finishes in Delta.

“Our girls were mostly maxed out, too,” Francone said, referencing the full slates of events many Moffat County swimmers had to take on Friday and Saturday. “Marissa Hulstine, she went out and cut big time even though she swam back-to-back. We’re missing the swimmers that have graduated, but the girls we have really stepped up.”

After Delta the Bulldogs traveled to Grand Junction for an all-relay meet with a big contingent of Western Slope teams attending. Despite being the second-smallest team at the meet, they scored 300 points to take sixth out of 13 teams. The teams who beat them are all 4A and 5A in most sports.

“Our girls did really well,” Francone said. “They held their own so we were really proud of them.”

In nearly every event where Moffat County competed, it came away with a top-five finish. The highlight came in the 100-yard freestyle relay, where Stephany Joos, Kaylee Durham, Emily Womble and Allie Dilldine took second place.

In the three relays, which are regional and state meet events, the Bulldogs were fourth, fourth and fifth, which is a good sign for the team as the season wears on.

“We’re getting skinny on our times, it’s great,” Francone said. “We have big expectations of our girls and they have stepped up so far.”